ITALY head coach Conor O’Shea has announced his squad ahead of the 2017 RBS 6 Nations.
The first nation to finalise their 32 players for the tournament, Italy have selected a group rich in experience rather than experimenting with players foreign to Test rugby.
Here is what we know about the Italy Six Nations squad…
What are Italy’s 6 Nations fixtures?
Sun, Feb 5 – Italy vs Wales – Stadio Olimpico, Rome – 2pm (GMT) – ITV – REPORT
Sat, Feb 11 – Italy vs Ireland – Stadio Olimpico, Rome – 2.45pm (GMT) – ITV
Sun, Feb 26 – England vs Italy – Twickenham, London – 3pm – ITV – PREVIEW
Sat, Mar 11 – Italy vs France – Stadio Olimpico, Rome – 1.30pm (GMT) – ITV
Sat, Mar 18 – Scotland vs Italy – Murrayfield, Edinburgh – 12.30pm – BBC
Who is in the Italy side to play England?
Edoardo Padovani, Giulio Bisegni, Michele Campagnaro, Luke McLean, Giovanbattista Venditti, Tommaso Allan, Edoardo Gori, Andrea Lovotti, Leonardo Ghiraldini, Lorenzo Cittadini, Marco Fuser, Dries Van Schalkwyk, Braam Steyn, Simone Favaro, Sergio Parisse.
Who is in the Italy 6 Nations squad?
Front Row
Pietro Ceccarelli (5 caps), Dario Chistolini (15 caps), Lorenzo Cittadini (53 caps), Andrea Lovotti (9 caps), Sami Panico (6 caps), Tommaso D’Apice (11 caps), Ornel Gega (8 caps), Leonardo Ghiraldini (82 caps)
Second Row
George Fabio Biagi (14 caps), Joshua Furno (36 caps), Marco Fuser (16 caps), Federico Ruzza (uncapped)
Back Row
Andries van Schalkwyk (8 caps), Marco Barbini (2 caps), Simone Favaro (33 caps), Maxime Mata Mbanda (3 caps), Francesco Minto (31 caps), Sergio Parisse (121 caps), Abraham Jurgens Steyn (5 caps)
Halves
Giorgio Bronzini (3 caps), Edoardo Gori (56 caps), Marcello Violi (2 caps), Tommaso Allan (27 caps), Carlo Canna (15 caps)
Centres
Tommaso Benvenuti (37 caps), Tommaso Boni (2 caps), Michele Campagnaro (25 caps), Giulio Bisegni (5 caps)
Wingers/Fullbacks
Luke McLean (84 caps), Angelo Esposito (8 caps), Giovanbattista Venditti (38 caps), Edoardo Padovani (6 caps)
Who is the captain of the Italy squad?
Sergio Parisse will captain Italy once again as the No.8 prepares to participate in his 14th Championship.
2017 marks the 10th year that Parisse will have led the Azzuri, first being handed the honour as a 24-year-old in 2008.
Currently playing for Stade Francais in the French Top 14 competition, Parisse has appeared 121 times for his country.
Who are the new faces in the Italy 6 Nations squad?
Federico Ruzza
The only uncapped player in the squad, the 22-year-old lock is likely to get his first taste of Test rugby at the Six Nations tournament.
Currently plying his trade with Zebre in the Pro 12, Ruzza has played for Italy at U18 and U20 level.
Marco Barbini
Having featured for Emerging Italy since 2012, backrower Barbini made his first appearance for the Azzuri in the 2015 Six Nations.
Managing only two caps to date, he will be eager to take the field in this Championship.
Marcello Violi
Like Barbini, Violi was called into the Italian Six Nations squad in 2015, appearing twice for his country.
The scrumhalf plays for Pro 12 side Zebre.
Tommaso Boni
Another of the many Zebre players in the squad, Boni will be looking to build on his two caps after making his debut for Italy in the autumn Test series.
Who has been excluded from the Italy squad?
Luca Sperandio
According to O’Shea, the 20-year-old was unlucky to miss out on the 32-man squad, after impressive performances for Benetton Treviso and Italy age groups.
A dangerous wing or fullback, Sperandio will no doubt get his chance in the blue jersey in the near future.
Tito Tebaldi
Having established himself as Italy’s starting halfback in 2010, Tebaldi has been out of favour with Italian selectors in recent years.
However, with 20 caps to his name, he would have been one of the more experienced scrumhalves in the squad, making his exclusion by his former Harlequins coach all the more surprising.
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